


ardent

by lailou



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Multi, pride and prejudice au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-03-29 20:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13934946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lailou/pseuds/lailou
Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single scion in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a husband.At least this is what Mako Trig had heard. He didn’t particularly care about marriage, he was young and saw love as something far-off, something for others. Mako also didn’t particularly know about the scions of Apostolos, though they were much closer than marriage.(I'm bad at summaries but basically Mako is an Elizabeth Bennet-type if Elizabeth Bennet was a cool hacker and Cass is a Mr. Darcy-type if Mr. Darcy was a prince and they MEET and WILL fall in love EVENTUALLY.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure where to go with this, but I like where it's sort of going. Cass is a giant dick in the beginning, but that'll change p quickly. And I really struggled with where to put Aria in this story in terms of career, because I didn't just want her to be a pop star. So I made her a politician, which I think makes sense for her! Also this is totally unedited lol I just wanted to get it up! I'll probs make some changes later

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single scion in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a husband. 

At least this is what Mako Trig had heard. He didn’t particularly care about marriage, he was young and saw love as something far-off, something for others. Mako also didn’t particularly know about the scions of Apostolos, though they were much closer than marriage. 

Closer in the physical sense. As in, one was right across from the shitty apartment building where Mako lived with Aria. There, where Mako could see through his window, the youngest Apostolosian scion.

“They’re more of like, a figurehead than anything. Like, cutting the ribbon at a new hospital is cool, but not like, a head-of-state type of thing,” Aria had explained when Mako wondered aloud what on earth a scion was doing on Counterweight, in their neighborhood no less. 

Not a very good figurehead, Mako thought to himself. The scion was obviously handsome, but they wore this pinched expression the entire time they delivered their speech about crossing cultural lines, encouraging a positive relationship between the societies, and other general political niceties. They wore a distinguished air about them, but in a pretentious way, rather than an appealing one. 

“There’s going to be a dinner later, though, while the scion is in town...” Aria trailed off, looking at Mako expectantly. 

“What, Aria? Please god don’t say what I think you’re going to say,” Mako said, dramatically sighing when Aria smiled in response. 

“I have to go, Mako. If I want any real chance at being mayor, I have to schmooze. And I really, really don’t want to go by myself.” Aria brightened a bit. “It could be fun! You could fog some bureaucrats’ dating profiles!”

“Ugh, that does sound like fun. Except not at all, Aria!” Mako threw his hands in the air dramatically. He admitted to himself that it was mostly for show, because he knew he’d go if Aria really wanted him to, and fogging the Tinder of some poor city councilor did sound like fun. 

“Pleeease, Mako? There’ll be free food, and lots of handsome potential suitors! And I really don’t want to go by myself...” 

“Fiiine, Aria,” Mako replied, mocking her earlier tone. “I’ll even wear opaque clothes. For you.”

Aria nodded, her face solemn, with a smile in her eyes that slowly reached her lips. “Thank you, Mako, for real. And like, please actually wear opaque clothes. Ibex does not want a repeat of last time you were my guest.”

Mako scoffed. “Ibex wishes he could get a repeat. Why do you hang out with that guy anyways?”

“Mako, he’s my boss. I don’t ‘hang out’ with him. Besides, you hang out with Lazer Ted!” 

“Excuse me,” Mako gasped dramatically. “Lazer Ted is the best lo-fi mod pop garage drum musician on this planet.”

“Technically, yeah, but that means nothing.” Aria continued on a (mostly unrelated) rant about the various music genres present on Counterweight as a result of various historical and societal factors. Mako half-listened until they’d jumped topics to something he was more comfortable, but suddenly it was 4 PM and dinner was at 5. 

“Shit, we have to get ready. I have to wear nice clothes! It’s...” she pulled up an invitation on her phone. “Black tie optional? What does that even mean, Mako?”

“Um,” Mako racked his brain. “I think like, a dress? Or a suit?” The comment did nothing to alleviate Aria’s distress, though, as she mumbled incoherently and walked right to her room, presumably to throw all of her clothes on the floor and not put anything on until they actually had to leave. 

Mako sighed and went into his own room. He figured he ought to look decent, so he threw on the okay-est suit he’d been able to get his hands on since leaving September. It was a shimmery dark blue that Aria insisted flattered his coloring. After putting on a little bit of makeup, he was ready to go. 

Aria had also just finished getting ready, and she was wearing a dark purple velour dress with some iridescent accents in her necklace and on her eyes. 

“Hey,” Mako said, pointing to the shining button of his suit, then to Aria’s necklace. “We match!”

“Aw, we’re so cute!” Aria smiled, locking their front door as they walked out. “I hope people don’t think we’re a couple, though, no offense.”

“None taken.” Mako shuddered. 

Luckily, the dinner was being held at a hotel very close to where they lived, so there was no need for a cab. Mako offered to bring the Ring of Saturn, and Aria almost said yes, only hesitating because they were both wearing heels, and that would make the ride very dangerous. 

The hotel nearby was extravagant, one that Aria or Mako would have never stepped foot in, were it not for Aria’s political involvement. The outside was unassuming, but inside was a large blue pool surrounded by rooms with fronts of white marble, with bright white columns reaching as high as a fake sky, meeting in the skeleton of a compound dome. 

With some difficulty, they found the ballroom where the dinner was being hosted. The room itself was simple, with white walls and blue accents. There were three long tables in the center of the room, with space left at the front for mingling. 

“We are way too fancy for this,” Mako whispered, Aria nodding in response. They were both slightly in awe, but trying very hard to play it cool. 

They found their seats with much less difficulty, because almost as soon as they walked into the ballroom, Ibex waved them over. 

“Aria, do I have to?” Mako said childishly. Aria squeezed his arm, and dragged him with her towards Ibex. 

“You two are seated right next to me! How lovely!” Ibex said, smiling sweetly, in a way that Mako read as condescending. 

“Great!” Aria said, sitting in the chair directly next to Ibex. She wasn’t that mean that she would make Mako sit right next to her admittedly snooty boss. 

Dinner was served shortly after, and Mako sat quietly for most of the time. Politics and niceties were really more Aria’s thing. Mako only made some small talk with the tall woman sitting next to him. The woman in question kept leaning at very strange angles, and Mako quickly inferred that she was looking at Aria. He made a mental note to try and introduce them, because, well, he knew Aria’s type. 

After dinner, people started migrating to the front of the room. There was a hint of dancing, but mostly just standing and talking. Eventually, the tables in the room were removed entirely, to open up more space. 

Mako and Aria were standing in a corner, whispering about whoever happened to pass by them. Aria, for all her ambition, was still insecure about her place in this world, and often found herself in corners. And Mako was often there with her. 

After an hour or so had passed, they were disturbed by Ibex, to Mako’s dismay. He said something about Aria meeting someone, and Mako had been tugged along, Aria citing a need for “emotional support”. 

This is how Mako Trig found himself standing in front of Cassander Timaeus Bernice, the youngest scion of Apostolos. 

Close up, they were, well, still very handsome. Their dark hair was graying slightly, but showed few signs of aging beyond that. Their face was still rugged, and youthfully so. They were considerably taller and more muscular than most everyone in the room. Despite their attractive features, Mako found the aloofness they held themselves with disdainful. 

“Scion Cassander, this is my acquaintance- and, er, her acquaintance. Aria is a valuable member of my party, and hopes to run for mayor in a few elections,” Ibex said, gesturing to Aria, who was smiling primly. 

“I’m Aria Joie, it’s such an honor to meet you,” she said, sticking out her hand, but withdrawing after the scion made it very clear that they were staying at a cool distance. 

“Pleasure. Good luck on your endeavors, Ms. Joie. And good luck on whatever your endeavors may be, Ms. Joie’s acquaintance,” the scion gave an obviously fake smile, their tone bitingly cold. “I must be going. I have more important matters to attend to.”

And, with that, they were gone, as quick as they came. Ibex immediately began speaking with a different group nearby, leaving Aria and Mako at a standstill in the middle of the ballroom. 

“Can you believe that guy?” Mako’s voice was low, but still very obvious. 

Aria shushed him. “Maybe they’re just tired? I don’t know, Mako. Don’t take it too personally,” she sighed, resigned. 

After that, they were just about to leave, the woman sitting next to Mako tapped Aria on the shoulder and asked her to dance, leaving Mako alone. Only one, song, she’d promised. Then they would return to their apartment, and their normal lives. 

Mako resigned himself to leaning up against the wall near the exit. He was zoned out and braiding tiny pieces of his hair and then undoing them repeatedly, as he often did when he was restless, when a voice shocked him out of his head. 

“On Apostolos, we braid with four strands. Here on Counterweight, you only use three. Everything is so much simpler here.”

There stood the scion Cassander, once again. They leaned up against the wall in a way that was so awkward it made Mako think that, somehow, the scion of Apostolos had never encountered walls before. 

“What’s wrong with that?” Mako said, feeling very confrontational at the haughtiness in their voice. 

“Nothing, I was just making an observation,” Cassander replied, less confident than they’d been initially. 

“Sounded like something else, dude,” Mako replied, scoffing. 

“Read what you will into my words.”

“Yeah, I will,” Mako was getting ready to make a scene when Aria and the tall woman appeared, Aria with her purse in hand and jacket on. 

“C’mon, Mako, let’s go,” she nodded towards the door. Mako gave Cassander a pointed look as he left, hoping to communicate disdain. 

For they part, Cassander looked sheepish enough for a moment, as they were whisked away by Aria’s dance partner, but the last Mako saw of them last night was them giving another poor, young politician the same uppity, irritating look.


	2. Chapter 2

“But she was like, really beautiful. Be honest with me- do you think that guy was her boyfriend?” 

Jacqui Green had not stopped talking about the woman she’d met at the gala. And Cassander was just a touch tired of hearing about it. 

“Yeah, Jacqui, you did mention how beautiful she was,” Cassander said, teasing their friend. “And that guy? Was definitely not her boyfriend.”

“What makes you so sure?” Jacqui exclaimed, as she flopped onto the bed next to theirs. 

The woman in question, Aria, had Cassander’s friend and part-time bodyguard more flustered than they’d ever seen her. Jacqui, in Cassander’s experience, tended to be the one causing the flustering. 

“Jacqui, did you see that guy? Or speak to him? I wouldn’t be worried.”

Jacqui rolled her eyes. “This might shock you, Cassander, but just because you don’t like someone or something doesn’t mean others don’t. You’re no help with this anyways. Can you text that dude and ask if she’s single?”

“Jacqui, you want me to text her boss and ask if she’s dating a guy you saw her with once? You realize there are so many reasons I can’t do that, right? Like, it would be weird, first of all. And a violation of privacy, probably. And don’t even get me started on the diplomatic implications-”

“I get it, I get it,” Jacqui interrupted. “We’ll just have to attend as many dinners as possible, then. I have to be hot all the time, just in case.”

It was Cassander’s turn to roll their eyes. They thought it was hilarious that their friend was so hung up on this girl. Of course Aria was attractive- Cassander had only seen her once or twice, but they had seen her. She was a shock of sophistication in a room that seemed to lack it, especially compared to her companion, who, despite barely speaking to him, had overwhelmed Cassander with a sort of disdain they rarely felt directed towards themselves.

The encounter had been off-putting, to say the least. The young man, whose name Cassander could not recall, had lingered in their mind in a way people rarely did. Cassander was used to meeting people, being a scion. But Aria’s acquaintance had been directly berating towards them. It had torn Cassander’s frayed nerves to pieces. 

Jacqui and Cassander were jerked out of their thoughts by an abrupt knock at their hotel room door. 

Jacqui sighed, and pulled herself off of her bed and opened the door cautiously. She had a pretty good idea of who it was, considering only a few people knew where they were staying. 

As soon as the door was fully opened, AuDy walked into the room, stopped in front of Cassander and began to speak. “I have just been informed that you’ll be touring city hall tomorrow. I’ll arrange for a car to come at 7:45 AM so you can arrive by 8 AM. You’ll be there until approximately 1 Pm, after having lunch with Ibex.”

Cassander groaned.

“You must have been quite charming, for your presence to be requested again so quickly,” AuDy said, as sarcastic as they could be. “And, of course, you can bring a guest. I recommend Jacqui.”

“Duh. They’d be so lost without me,” Jacqui said, AuDy nodding in agreement, as much as a robot without a head can nod. 

“Fine,” Cassander said, as if this was something they had any choice in. “Do I wear just... normal clothes?”

“I believe your typical diplomatic clothes will suit you, yes. Jacqui, perhaps go a bit more neutral, to show that you’re Cassander’s bodyguard.”

Jacqui nodded. “I’m so glad you gained sentience and started giving fashion advice.”

“I do not believe that me telling you to wear neutral clothing counts as fashion advice,” AuDy replied, their tone clearly teasing. AuDy was Cassander’s chauffeur up until recently, when they’d began to mysteriously gain sentience. AuDy had since become much more of a personal assistant, and a friend. 

After a few minutes of continued back and forth between Jacqui and AuDy, with Cassander occasionally chiming in, AuDy decided it was in Jacqui and Cassander’s best interests that they leave, so that the two humans could be well rested. 

As they got ready for bed, Cassander thought of the next day. They were not suited for politics, being far too stubborn to ever get involved. Their older siblings were much better being diplomatic and compromising. Just a month, Cassander told themselves. Just a month, then you will return to Apostolos.

“Tomorrow will go fine, dude, just go to sleep,” Jacqui said, her light already off. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

“You’re right,” Cassander climbed into their bed, switching their own light off. “Maybe we’ll even see that girl, Aria, again tomorrow.”

Cassander fell asleep to the sound of Jacqui’s mindless, quiet ramblings about whether Aria’s eyes were blue or brown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get out another chapter before I go back to school. Sorry Cass is kind of a dick in this one again. Also, I really love Jacqui as Mr. Bingley.


	3. Chapter 3

Working for the Counterweight Public Arts office was thankless work, Aria Joie decided as she ended yet another call with a concerned citizen. The man had called because he felt that a mural that was put up across his building was, plainly, ugly. 

Aria had real passion for working with and doing her best to help people, but it exhausted her. She sat in a dingy office in city hall, and dreamt of a day when she could make an impact that went beyond promising to discuss something with a higher-up. 

In a rare moment of respite before her phone inevitably rang again, she allowed her mind to wander. Aria thought of the woman, Jacqui, who she’d briefly danced with the previous night, before running off to prevent a diplomatic disaster because her obstinate best friend. She sighed after a minute of thought, and then returned to her work. 

Her day had passed without interruption until about half past noon, when there was a knock at her door. She rose to open it, but the knock was apparently more of a warning than a question. 

Ibex walked in, and shut the door behind him quickly. “Aria, in 20 seconds the scion and their bodyguard are going to walk in,” Aria’s eyes widened. “I’m taking them on a tour and thought I should forewarn you.”

“This is very short notice,” Aria whisper-shouted, her eyes widening in distress. 

Ibex didn’t have time to respond, because there was another knock on the door. This time, Aria opened it. Lo and behold, the scion of Apostolos and their tall, beautiful, mysterious bodyguard. 

Jacqui was wearing a steel grey suit that fit her very well, especially on the arms and thighs, Aria noted. 

Ibex cleared his throat, and Aria blushed, realizing she’d been staring. “Hello, uh, welcome, Scion Cassander and, uh. Jacqui,” she said, praying she didn’t sound as flustered as she felt. 

Evidently, she did not, because Cassander seemed nonplussed. “Hello, Ms...”

“Aria Joie, representative for the Counterweight Public Arts office,” she supplied. “We met last night.”

“Oh, uh. Forgive me, I had quite the busy night,” Cassander replied. Jacqui elbowed them, very unsubtly. “I think I remember you now?”

“It’s cool, I get it. I mean, I don’t, but. I empathize,” Aria said, stuttering over her words as Jacqui looked her in the eye. 

Cassander smirked slightly, and there was a momentary silence before Ibex spoke. “Aria, would you be so kind as to explain the purpose of your office to Scion Cassander.”

“Sure, totally,” Aria launched into a spiel about the Counterweight Public Arts office, Cassander nodding along. Aria’s job may irritate her, and she may have bigger aspirations, but she truly loved the Public Arts program. 

As she finished her speech, Jacqui smiled at her softly, and it made Aria feel like her heart was going to jump out of her throat. She had to get this girl’s number. 

“The work you do is interesting, and certainly important, Ms. Joie. As much as I would like to speak more, Ibex and I must attend a lunch in,” Cassander glanced at their watch. “20 minutes. So we must be going.”

“Certainly,” Aria reached into a drawer, fishing out a business card that she hoped to god had her current number on it. “Here,” she pressed the card into Jacqui’s soft hand. 

Cassander raised an eyebrow. It was the most expression they’d conveyed the whole time. Aria realized what she’d just done, and grabbed another business card and handed it to Cassander. “If you ever need any, uh, help with anything.”

Aria internally groaned, hoping the two would leave quickly so she couldn’t make any more blunders. Luckily (or unluckily), she didn’t have to stand up to open to door for them, because it flew open just as she was about to stand. 

Mako burst in, carrying a paper bag. He was wearing what Aria thought was a very Mako ensemble- light blue skinny jeans, a bright yellow v-neck, and his usual classical Earth windbreaker. Aria was briefly happy to see her friend, grateful for a distraction, but then quickly became very worried. 

“Hey, Aria. And...” Mako looked at Ibex, Cassander, and Jacqui. “Two people I don’t know, and the girl Aria danced with last night. Jacqui, was it?” Aria kicked Mako where he stood next to her.

Ibex rolled his eyes, but Cassander didn’t seem as amused. “We definitely met.”

“I don’t recall,” Mako replied. Aria wanted out very, very badly. 

“I- we spoke, and then you left right afterwards,” Cassander said, a barely restrained frustration revealing itself in the furrowed brow on their otherwise steely expression. 

“Oh, yeah. You insulted me, right?” Mako raised an eyebrow. 

Jacqui covered her mouth, stifling a laugh, and Ibex put a hand on his forehead. “Mako,” Aria hissed. “The scion was just leaving.”

“Of course, we should be going,” Ibex said, standing up quickly. “We don’t want to be late for lunch.”

It seemed like Cassander wasn’t willing to let Mako have the last word. “I did no such thing. I merely commented that everything seems much simpler on Counterweight. You’re twisting my words.”

“Let’s go, Cassander,” Jacqui said, as she stood up and grabbed they by the arm. As they rose to follow Jacqui’s lead, they maintained eye contact. Even as Cassander reached full height, taller than everyone except Jacqui, they stared Mako straight in the eye. 

Mako was defiant as ever, and glared daggers at Cassander until they were out of Aria’s office, which had begun to feel far too small for five people. 

As soon as the door closed, Mako flopped into one of the chairs in front of Aria’s desk, placing the bag of food he’d brought between them. “Ugh.”

“Yeah, ugh, Mako. That was going really okay. I even gave Jacqui my number,” Aria grabbed a carton of soup out of the bag. 

“Well, congrats on that, at least. I’m sorry, Aria, but that uppity fish weirdo just got under my skin.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “You’ll never see them again, so it’s fine. Also, not just any fish weirdo, a royal fish weirdo with a sexy bodyguard.”

“Royal, schmoyal. Now tell me about giving your number to the sexy bodyguard.”

Aria launched into a dramatic retelling of the last 20 minutes, detailing every bit of eye contact and every tiny touch. 

Aria really, really hoped Jacqui called her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if its not clear i rly love jacqui and aria! also, if it wasn't clear, aria works for what is essentially the WPA- i imagine, due to economic conditions, counterweight would have a similar program. i'm handwaving a LOT of the political elements in canon (mostly bc i don't quite understand them), but hopefully will end on a place true to the essence.  
> also u can yell about fatt w me on tumblr @ yahchilles


	4. Chapter 4

Jacqui had been sighing pretty much nonstop since her and Cassander had left the office of Aria Joie. It was later that night, and all her wistfulness was beginning to clash with Cassander’s frustration. AuDy had just joined them in their room, and was understandably lost about the whole feelings mess they were in. 

“Okay, so, what happened was, we were on our tour, right? And then we have to go into this random office, which, like whatever. And it ended up being that girl from the other night! Remember, I was telling you about her?” Jacqui explained. 

Audy nodded, and Jacqui continued. “So things were going good- her job is so cool, she is so cool. And she gave me her number-” 

“I assume you haven’t used it?” AuDy said. If they had a face, they’d be raising an eyebrow.

“Shut up! You know I haven’t. Don’t sass me. She was so cool, AuDy. But I can’t tell if she’s into me? Like, she gave me her number, but she also gave Cassander her number. I know I seem very cool,” Cassander rolled their eyes, and Jacqui kept rambling. “But I’m very not. Like, she was so cool and pretty. AuDy. What am I going to do?”

“Why aren’t you asking me for advice?” Cassander asked, faux-offended. 

“I love you, and you know this. But you seem a bit distracted. AuDy, our dear scion has beef with Aria’s friend, for no good reason. So when this guy walked in-”

“Now, wait,” Cassander interrupted. “It’s not for no good reason. It’s because he insulted me, to my face, and gave me an extremely nasty look.”

“You seem to be, as people say, a bit ‘hung up’ on this man,” AuDy said, their tone teasing. 

“Exactly!” Jacqui exclaimed. She continued before Cassander had a chance to defend themself. “Anyways, so as we were leaving, this guy walked in. And then him and Cassander here had a thing. It was like, tense. There was prolonged eye contact, and a lot of glaring.”

“I see,” AuDy responded, sounding very serious. “Well, you’ll probably never have to see him again, unless Jacqui and Aria enter a relationship, in which case you may see him infrequently at the most.”

“AuDy!” Jacqui threw a pillow at the robot, who sat at the end of her bed, opposite her and Cassander. “Don’t say that! I haven’t even texted her! I don’t even know if I will!”

“Jacqui,” Cassander gripped her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “If you don’t text her, I will. For you. Not for me, obviously.”

“Why is that obvious?” AuDy inquired, at the same time that Jacqui murmured an affirmative. 

Cassander chose to ignore AuDy’s question, and turned their attention to Jacqui’s phone, where she’d started very carefully writing out a text. 

“What do I say? Should I just be like ‘hey, it’s Jacqui’ or should I get a little more flirty?” Eventually, after a lot of debate among the group, she settled on the former. 

She put her phone down, and about ten seconds later, it lit up with a text message. “Oh my god, I can’t look. AuDy, you look,” she handed AuDy her phone, who read the message out loud. 

“It says ‘hey, Jacqui! it was great to see you today!’, which I think means...” they didn’t get to finish their thought before Jacqui snatched her phone back. 

“Oh my god, okay. Should I say it was great to see her too, or is that too desperate?” she said, looking to Cassander for guidance. 

“Don’t look at me! I’m apparently having a ‘thing’! Also, I’ve dated, like, three people, and it was all arranged by my parents,” Cassander was finished, but Jacqui continued to look expectantly. They sighed. “But I guess I don’t see how that could be desperate.”

Jacqui smiled, and typed out her message. The Aria and Jacqui texting conversation quickly went on a back burner as Jacqui grew more confident, and the three discussed the rest of their stay on Counterweight. 

Their talk of taking a detour to a beach planet on the way back to prolong their time away (all of them, but especially Cassander’s) for Apostolos were interrupted by an obvious giggle from Jacqui.

“What’s so funny, Green?” Cassander said, trying (and failing) to get a look at her phone. 

Jacqui rolled her eyes. “If you must know, Aria’s friend hates you, too. Here, you can read the messages,” she handed Cassander her phone, and they read the last few messages (the whole conversation was quite long).

to: Aria Joie  
yeah my job is rly fun i get to travel a ton! urs seems rly cool too! i wish we could’ve heard more about it today!

from: Aria Joie  
I could tell you more about it over coffee or something! and yeah sorry abt my friend today lol idk why he dislikes the scion so much

To: Aria Joie  
i would love that! when r u free? and lollllll we’re hung up on it over here too dw

“I am not hung up!” Cassander exclaimed, a little defensive. “I’m just- you know. He offended me! I’m not hung up, at all.”

“Cassander. Your dislike for this random dude is the most passionate I’ve seen you in a while. People are rude to you all the time. What’s different here?” Jacqui said, AuDy nodding along (whatever nodding meant for AuDy).

“Nothing! He just got under my skin, is all. I was caught off guard. I was having an off day!” Jacqui raised her eyebrow at their defensive tone. “Let’s focus on the fact that Aria totally asked you out!”

Jacqui and AuDy sighed at the same time, which Cassander had a very hard time not laughing at. Luckily for them, their two friends seemed willing to let it go. 

“I don’t know if this necessarily qualifies as asking out. We get coffee all the time. Well, we get coffee, and AuDy sits with us. It’s not important. But coffee can mean anything.”

“Just get coffee with her!” Cassander practically shouted.

“Fine! We’re getting coffee this weekend! Are you happy now?” Jacqui shouted back. 

“Yes! I am! Now please, can we go to bed? We can talk about the Joie-Green wedding tomorrow.”

Jacqui sputtered, then started laughing, then took on a gentle, dreamy expression that occupied her face for the rest of her night. The three friends soon said their goodnights, and Cassander thought about that look on Jacqui’s face, and what it meant. They turned over in bed, and wondered what it took for a person normally so confident as Jacqui to get so thrown off. Cassander fell asleep wondering what they might look like in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i rly rly love jacqui and aria and am trying very hard not to do that thing where i sideline them/have them act only as catalysts so hopefully that comes across! also i have no idea what mako's career is in this universe so. if anyone has any ideas. (im leaning towards low level criminal or like barista or maybe a librarian? librarian seems like a career a stratus would have)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are (slowly but surely) getting to some romance-ADJACENT stuff

That very weekend, Cassander found themself idling on a city street on Counterweight. 

Jacqui had her maybe-date on that street (Cassander thought it was definitely a date), and her and Cassander had to be somewhere a couple hours later. They had both decided that Cassander might as well just hang out and experience local culture.

They were wearing a very fallible disguise that included regular Counterweight clothes and a hat covering their distinct hair. And no one was on the streets looking for Apostolosian royalty, so they figured they were okay to walk around a bit. 

After about 45 minutes of mindlessly perusing a small antique shop, Cassander decided they wanted to sit down for a while. They decided against going into the coffee shop and interrupting Jacqui’s date, but they were very tempted, if only to see how it was going. 

Eventually, they ended up at a small, two-story library. It was completely empty, there wasn’t even anyone behind the help desk at the front-- on a “back in 15” sign. 

Cassander settled at a table on the second floor, and pulled a random book about the history of art on Counterweight. It was, of course, a fairly short history, but an interesting one. 

The dead silence of the library was broken when the door behind the help desk swung upon, and there was an eruption of what sounded to Cassander like someone with no inside voice trying to whisper. 

“Paisley, I’ll get it for you, no problem,” that voice sounded familiar to Cassander, but it was quiet enough that they couldn’t make it out. “Just tell me why, for once.”

“Mako,” another voice hissed. Cassander cursed under their breath. They couldn’t catch a break from this guy. “Mako, c’mon. You know you can’t get involved in this.”

Cassander positioned themself in a way that they could see what was happening downstairs without being too obvious. They saw Mako, dressed atrociously, standing very close to a comparatively (and objectively) well-dressed man. 

“Fine, Paisley. I’ll have the files to you by tomorrow night,” Mako started walking the guy to the door, clearly ready for the conversation to be over. 

“Hey,” the guy, Paisley, grabbed Mako’s arm as he was about to leave. “Do you wanna go get coffee at the place across the street?”

Mako looked at where Paisley was touching him for a second, his face briefly softened, then pulled away. “No, Paisley. Aria’s on a date there literally, like, right now.”

“Aria? With who?” Paisley asked.

“Oh my God, Paisley, does it matter? You guys broke up like, months ago. Move on, dude,” Mako said, very pointed in a way Cassander couldn’t quite discern. 

“Whatever, Mako,” Paisley half-stepped out the door, and paused to ruffle Mako’s hair. “Take it easy.”

The second Paisley was out the door, Mako sighed and sat behind the desk, and removed the “back in 15” sign (Cassander thought it had certainly been more than 15 minutes, but that was somewhat irrelevant). 

Fuck, Cassander thought, leaning back in their chair, book forgotten. Is he a criminal? Is Aria a criminal? How do I leave this library without him knowing I’ve been here the whole time?

Luckily, or unluckily, Cassander didn’t have to consider that last question, because they fell backwards on their chair. Loudly, and not particularly elegantly.

Cassander hardly had time to stand up and brush themself off before Mako was up the stairs, stood in front of them. 

“Are you kidding me?” Mako said, his voice laced with hysteria. 

“Are you kidding me? Are you a criminal?” Cassander practically screeched back.

“Why is that any of your business? What are you even doing here? Don’t you have royalty things to do? Or something?”

“It’s my business because I don’t want Jacqui dating some criminal!” Cassander shouted, and was cut off before they could continue responding. 

“What, you having a clean record- which, by the way, means nothing, because you’re royalty- makes you better than me and Aria?”

“That- that’s not what I’m saying at all! You’re twisting my words again,” Cassander replied, and thought (not for the first time) that this was the most infuriating person they’d ever met.

“Whatever, dude. Get out of my library,” Mako said, promptly storming back down the stairs. 

Cassander followed not to far behind. Because it was the only staircase, first of all, and they needed to exit the building. But also because they really wanted to either figure out the whole criminal thing, or at least have the last word. 

They stood in front of the desk where Mako sat, pointedly ignoring them. “Look, Mako, I’m. Sorry about my tone. Let me rephrase this. Do you engage in, um, criminal activities?” Cassander asked, awkward and stilted. 

Mako groaned. “Dude. You have got to work on being cool. And, it’s literally none of your business. We don’t know each other. Aria isn’t a criminal, though. You’re fine.”

“It’s really fine,” Cassander floundered, trying to save the situation, for Jacqui’s sake. “Crime is fine!” Mako raised an eyebrow. “I mean- I live a very boring life. It’s fine if you like, dabble in crime, and we have a mutual friend. Just because I’m not a criminal doesn’t mean you can’t be. Or it doesn’t mean Aria can’t have been.”

Mako cracked a small smile. “Don’t worry, dude. Just get out of my library, uh...”

“Cassander,” they supplied. 

Mako scoffed. “That’s such a pretentious name. Is Cass okay? If so, get out of my library, Cass.”

“I- yeah. Cass is fine. And I’m leaving, don’t worry,” Cassander half-stepped out of the door and stopped for a second. “Have a, um. Good day.”

As soon as the door shut behind them, they sighed. They felt slightly overwhelmed, and a little warm. Probably from embarrassment, they thought. Probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> paisley is like, if you had empathy for wickham. i miss writing jacqui and aria they will continue to be prominently featured but i just needed to get mako and cass alone together and like, your sister getting a cold at her boyfriend's house where your crush lives and then you have to live there for like weeks doesn't exactly. you know. happen in any world with cars or phones. also i realize that i keep referencing cell phones in this and that may be inaccurate to canon, but it's easier 2 write than whatever technology stuff is in canon


	6. Chapter 6

“So, Aria. How was your daaate?” Mako asked as he walked into their apartment. 

Aria groaned. She’d been thinking about it since she’d left the coffee shop hours ago. Being alone with her thoughts, she’d had plenty of time to consider their date. 

“Well, okay. I thought it went really well, right? We clicked right away, and it wasn’t awkward at all. Until, like. The end of the date,” Aria punctuated with a sigh. 

“And?” Mako prompted as he plopped down on the couch next to her. 

“And, like. I said that I’d see her around sometime. And then I leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. And then she BOOKED IT,” Aria explained, gesturing wildly. 

“Wait, like actually? Did she say anything?”

 

“She said ‘bye, it was nice seeing you’ and then ran!” Aria threw hands up dramatically. “That was it! I haven’t texted her since!”

Mako considered this. “Maybe you should text her. Maybe she didn’t get that it was a date?”

“Mako,” Aria gestured to her outfit, which, to be fair, did scream date. “How could she not know?”

“I don’t know, Aria. Like, I know you like her because I know you. But maybe, since you guys just met, she’s not picking up on it? Maybe you’re not being as obvious as you think you are.”

 

“I don’t know how I could be any more obvious. But I’ll try. And I’ll text her. But tomorrow? Or maybe tonight? Or should I do it right now?”

“Aria. Just do it right now. If you wait till tomorrow, it’ll be too late. If you do it later, it’ll be like a... you know.”

“God,” she groaned, and dramatically threw her phone on the floor. “You’re right. I’ll just text her now.”

“I’m always right.”

“Yeah, whatever. Help me pick an emoji,” she said, shoving her phone in Mako’s face. After much deliberation, they settled on the blushing smiley face. 

Aria put her phone in her lap. “So, how was your day, Mako?”

“Well, Aria, it was fine. Normal day. Paisley came in,” Aria scoffed. “And then the scion was. Also there.”

Aria shrieked. “At the same time as Paisley?”

“They didn’t actually meet, thank God. But Paisley was there for, well, you know, and the scion overhear.”

“Mako,” Aria hissed. “Why didn’t you open with this? That is literally so wild.”

“It was wild! And it went way better than you’re imagining!”

“That’s difficult to imagine,” Aria raised an eyebrow.

“So Paisley left, and then the scion confronted me about the whole ‘criminal’ thing, right?” Aria nodded. “Yeah, so. I think they’re fine with it?”

“First of all, stop talking to Paisley, like, forever. Second of all, what?” Aria said, confounded. 

“Noted. And, yeah, I have no idea. They were super weird about it. Like, they were angry, and then apologetic? And then they left. It was super awkward. I never thought I’d see the scion of Apostolos, like, floundering. I don’t know.”

“That’s so...”

“I know! But I think we’re making progress! Cass and I are practically besties now,” Mako said, rolling his eyes. 

“Cass?”

“Yeah, Cass? I think we’ll tolerate each other by the Jacqria wedding, anyways.”

Aria blushed, not letting go of the whole ‘Cass’ thing, but putting it on a back burner. For now. She’d investigate later, maybe after some alcohol was consumed. “Shut up, Mako.”

“About what, now?” he asked, barely holding back a smile. 

“She didn’t even think it was a date!” Aria wailed, dramatically covering her face with her arms. 

Mako laughed. “Did she text you baaack?”

Aria looked at her phone. “Yes. I’m too scared to open it. Mako, I’m gonna let you in on something. I seem really cool and confident- but I’m not. So I have to go off the grid.”

Mako rolled his eyes. “Give me your phone,” Aria handed him her phone. “Ooohh...”

“What is it, you asshole?”

“She says ‘it was nice to see you today we should hang out again sometime’ with the super smiley emoji! Sounds like somebody wants another date!”

Aria blushed again, and snatched her phone back. “This time, she’ll know it’s a date.”

“Oh, do you have a plan?”

“Yes, I do. I’m doing an acoustic set at that bar, next week?” Mako nodded. “And she’s gonna be invited. And my best friend is gonna be there, talking about how cool and single I am. And then I’m going to buy her a drink, while how cool I am is still fresh in her mind. And then I am going to kiss her on the cheek, so help me God.”

“This is an awful plan, Aria.”

“I know, Mako. But do you have a better one?” 

“Actually, no.”

“That’s what I thought,” Aria threw her hair over her shoulder.

“I mean, it’s not a good plan,” Mako sighed. “I’ll be there, though.”

“Good,” Aria said smugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aria and mako are disaster gays and i have to convey that in a non-crime way, somehow, so


	7. Chapter 7

“So that’s how Aria dealt with the 8th street boob painting fiasco. Pretty smart, right?” Mako said, smiling broadly. 

The smile was, however, a little tired. Aria had finished her set a few minutes earlier, and Mako had spent the better part of an hour conjuring up every non-embarrassing and slightly-cool story he could think of about her. It’d started out with thinly veiled stories about their days as extremely cool criminals, and had recently become slightly exaggerated stories of her adventures as a bureaucrat. Whatever.

“Wow, that’s super interesting. Do you know,” Jacqui looked around the room. “When she’s gonna join us?”

Soon, Mako hoped. “Nope! Probably about 10 minutes? Maybe less?” Hopefully less. 

“It was really good,” Cass said, smiling slightly. They’d apparently been dragged along- Jacqui probably didn’t anticipate Mako latching onto her. Mako returned the smile. 

They’d barely spoken the whole night, but Mako thought that might be because he spoke pretty much nonstop. They’d just smiled and nodded along. Mako noticed that they had kind of a nice smile- it made them look younger, less weary. Whatever, Mako was fine with however they looked as long as they weren’t being all uppity. 

The three amicably chatted for a few minutes about the weather on Counterweight (Cass and Jacqui weren’t quite used to it- they were wearing a comical amount of layers) and other mundane things. It wasn’t awkward, but Mako was still relieved when Aria joined them. 

“Hey, guys!” She smiled brightly, looking directly at Jacqui. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” Jacqui blushed under Aria’s gaze. “Do you wanna... go get a drink?”

“Sure!” Aria replied, her voice shrill and delighted. 

Mako winked at Aria as the two walked up to the crowded bar. Aria winked back .

And Mako was alone with Cass. Suddenly, he felt very out of his element and scrambled to find conversation. “So, those two, huh?”

“Yeah,” Cass looked at Jacqui, and smiled fondly. “Jacqui wasn’t sure if Aria liked her. But like... it’s very obvious.”

“Right?” Mako laughed. “Aria was angsting nonstop over whether or not Jacqui like-liked her. But it was very obvious.”

“It was kind of hilarious. Usually Jacqui’s the one who gets people all flustered. It was kind of sweet to see the reverse.”

“I mean, Aria’s definitely flustered. She’s just very good at acting smooth.” 

“Yeah,” Cass said, smiling again. It reached their eyes more than their mouth, Mako noted. “So...”

“So. How’s um... being a scion?” Mako blurted out in an attempt to keep the conversation flowing. 

“It’s um, good? I actually kind of hate it, to be honest?” Cass replied, laughing a little. “You know how it is.”

“I actually super don’t, dude.”

“I- it’s just rough. I didn’t ever think being a ruler was for me, and I still don’t. I was in the military. I was a medic. I really liked that. I really, really, don’t think I’ll be able to rule when the time comes. Not because I’m irresponsible, but because I don’t like the whole ‘monarchy’ thing,” Cass paused, and smiled knowingly. “But we’re working on it.”

Mako opened his mouth to speak, but Cass spoke again. “Sorry. You definitely didn’t want to know all of that. It’s cool. I get to travel a lot. Apostolos is beautiful.”

“You were a medic? During the war? What was that like?” Mako asked. He decided to ignore the rest and search the mesh for that later. He definitely put the whole ‘thinking the monarchy is bad’ thing in the ‘reasons to be friend w/ cass’ list he was keeping in his head. For Aria. 

Mako listened as attentively as he could to Cass talk about being a medic. They seemed pretty passionate about it, and they seemed to grow animated the longer they talked about it. 

After about ten minutes, Jacqui and Aria rejoined them at the table, laughing about some joke Aria had told. Mako smiled, he was happy his best friend was happy. The four of them chatted the rest of the night, any awkwardness mostly dissipated. 

“Sorry, guys, unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow, and Mako’s my ride,” Aria announced, after realizing how late it’d gotten. The bar was mostly empty save for a couple flirting at the bar and a group of younger people who never seemed to go quiet, even for a second. 

“We should get going too,” Jacqui said. 

The four of them gathered their things and walked to the door, pausing outside. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” Aria asked, looking at Jacqui. Jacqui nodded and let Aria pull her a step ahead as they walked towards the parking garage, leaving Cass and Mako alone again. 

“Tonight was really fun,” Cass said, timing their steps with Mako’s. Sitting, Mako had forgotten how tall Cass was. “I was afraid because we got off on the wrong foot. But I think we’re, uh. Getting on the right one?”

“Yeah, I think so, too. Besides,” Mako replied, teasing. “You’re actually way less cool than you seem.”

“Did you- did you think I was cool before?”

“Not cool, but, like, too cool? Like, hey, it’s me,” Mako changed their voice to imitate was Cass presumed was theirs. “I’m handsome and braiding so much harder on Apostolos.”

“That was a misunderstanding!” Cass replied indignantly. Handsome, they thought. Huh. 

“Whatever, dude. I’m glad we’re cool now. We don’t really have a choice either way, because we’re both gonna be major players in the Jacqria wedding,” Mako gestured to the two girls whispering just out of earshot in front of them. “But I’m glad we’re cool.”

They reached the parking garage, and Mako gestured for Aria to walk towards where they’d chained up the Ring of Saturn earlier. Before going with him, Aria stood on her tiptoes and kissed Jacqui. Very passionately. In the middle of the parking lot. 

“Bye,” she said as she pulled away, breathlessly, leaving Jacqui staring after her. “Let’s go,” she grabbed Mako and started walking towards their destination. 

“Bye, Cass!” Mako shouted towards them, locking eyes just for a moment before Aria tugged him up a set of stairs. Mako found himself inexplicably grateful it was only for a second. He felt as if he couldn’t bear any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. gay ppl are so dumb. cass is like hm about to stage a coup better tell my crush :) mako is like HM cass has a rly nice smile that must mean we're friends.   
> 2\. i'm sorry these updates r so irregular and short! i'm a student so i'm kinda busy but i really enjoy writing this bc it's a nice break from like writing academic papers.   
> 3\. thank u all so much for reading!!! i rly appreciate it!!!


	8. Chapter 8

It had been precisely 3 hours since Aria had kissed Jacqui, and Mako was still hearing about it. He truly loved his best friend, but was so glad that Jacqui had finally texted and given them something else to discuss in detail. Mako did not need to hear one more word about Jacqui’s hair, or eyes, or thighs, or lips, he was pretty sure he had heard literally all of them. 

“What does it say?” Mako asked, leaning back and moving closer to her on the couch, trying to glimpse Aria’s phone. 

“It says,” Aria cleared her throat dramatically. “That we should definitely hang out again before her and Cassander leave!”

“That’s great!” Mako exclaimed. 

“Yeah,” Aria typed out a message on her phone. “I just asked her to get dinner with me on Friday.”

“Ooooh, dinner?” Mako wiggled his eyebrows. 

Aria rolled her eyes. “Yeah, dinner. A real adult date. It’ll be great. I’m gonna sweep her off her feet.”

“Yeah, I think you already did that. I was there. Everyone and their mother saw you sweep Jacqui off her feet, Aria.”

Aria smirked. “I did, didn’t I?”

“God, shut up,” Mako playfully punched her shoulder. 

Her phone buzzed, and she quickly read the message out loud. “She said dinner sounds good!”

“I don’t have to be on this date, too, do I?” 

Aria rolled her eyes again. “No, Mako. Your role on the last one was clearly in a hype man capacity. And it clearly worked, and I thank you for that. But,” she put her hand on his shoulder, feigning seriousness. “Your work here is done, son.”

“Thanks, dad,” Mako said, giggling. 

“Seriously, though, I hope it wasn’t too awkward.”

“No, I had fun! Cass and I get along now, so. We kind of have to for your future wedding, anyways.”

“So you guys are... friends, then?” Aria asked. She had genuinely wanted the two of them to get along, but hadn’t expected it so quickly due to their rocky start. She wasn’t even ready to start unpacking the ‘Cass’ thing. 

“Yeah, I think so! They seem really cool, once you get past the uppity-ness,” Mako said, blushing lightly and praying Aria wouldn’t notice. 

“Mako Trig, is that a blush?” Aria gasped, hitting him gently in the shoulder. “What happened to being vehemently anti- you said, and I quote - ‘royal fish weirdo’?”

“They’re kinda cool. Don’t make this a thing, Aria,” Mako very deliberately did not meet her eyes.

“Mhhmm. We’ll see. Maybe you can come on this date. Maybe I’ll ask Jacqui to bring Cassander,” Aria said, and Mako glared at her. “Just kidding! 

Mako sighed. “They just seem cool. Whatever.”

“I can ask Jacqui for their number, if you want.”

“You can do whatever you want. You’re an adult.”

“Fine,” Aria pulled out her phone, and laughed when Mako grabbed it out of her hands. 

“Don’t,” he hissed. 

“Oh?” she raised her eyebrows. 

“Aria. This is nothing,” he waved a hand. “Don’t even worry about it.”

“I’m not worried! Look,” she put her phone down. “It’s gone!”

“Good!”

“Great! Glad there’s nothing, and you’re totally not being weird at all right now.”

“Glad we’re on the same page! Anyways! What restaurant are you taking Jacqui too?”

Aria decided to move on. “The fancy place, that just opened across from my work, maybe?”

\- 

“She asked me to dinner!” Jacqui squealed, and shoved her phone in Cassander’s face. “Look!”

“I’m so shocked, Jacqui, for real,” Cassander said. “It’s not like you two didn’t just almost have sex in a parking lot.”

“Shut up,” she said, blushing. “We did not.”

“That’s what it looked like from where I was standing.”

“Well. That’s not what it was. We just kissed! For a very long time. A very good, long, time.”

“From what I heard, Cassander’s claim is not far from the truth,” AuDy said. 

The three were sitting in Cassander and Jacqui’s hotel room, and Jacqui had been recounting her date with Aria to AuDy in astonishing detail. 

“Cassander is a goddamn liar, AuDy,” Jacqui replied. AuDy hummed in response. 

“I saw what I saw.”

“Speaking of Cassander,” Jacqui said, and Cassander rose an eyebrow. “Or, Cass, should I say?”

“I thought you wanted us to get along! Don’t friends have nicknames for each other?”

“Wait, what?” AuDy looked to Jacqui for explanation. 

“Our dear Cassander is now apparently best friends with Mako. They have nicknames for each other.”

“I thought we didn’t like Mako?” Audy tilted their head. 

“Cassander didn’t like Mako! Apparently they had a series of misunderstandings and he’s a criminal or something? But now they’re BFFs.”

“Cassander,” AuDy said, very seriously. “Everyone in this room except you has been a criminal at some point. And very soon, that will change.”

“I won’t be a criminal. Crime will be happening around me and to me, but I will not be a criminal, technically,” they took a deep breath. “Anyways, I never hated him! I was just frustrated with him! He got under my skin.”

“Technicalities,” Jacqui waved her hand. “So Cass here has a new best friend.”

Cassander willed a blush away. “It’s true. My old best friends were awful, so my new best friend is a criminal librarian who I’ve met three times.”

Jacqui nodded. “I get it. One of my old best friends was stuck-up fish royalty, but now I just have AuDy.”

Cassander rolled their eyes. “Whatever. Anyways, so. Back to Jacqui and Aria having sex in front of my two eyes, in a parking lot.”

“Shut UP,” Jacqui shrieked. “We did not!”

Cassander, Jacqui, and AuDy continued to discuss Jacqui’s date in-depth, and speculated about the next one. Cassander almost found themself a little sad about not having an excuse to see Mako again. Whether or not the two were friends, Cassander had enjoyed his company. Whatever, they thought. They’d be back on Apostolos and busy enough with other things soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. sorry again for the long gap between chapters! school is busy and i gotta write those essays unfortunately.   
> 2\. me write anything longer than 900 words without excessive dialogue? impossible. sorry  
> 3\. i want audy 2 be in this more bc theyre my fave but i have no idea how to incorporate them naturally so theyre just there now  
> 4\. u can find me on tumblr @ yahchilles if u want


	9. Chapter 9

Aria had left for her dinner with Jacqui not 20 minutes ago, and Mako was getting ready to go out for plans of his own. 

Mako felt restless, at home alone. Being alone with his thoughts was difficult, especially with the whole not-thing with Cass. He intentionally avoided thinking about it. He thought about the opposite of it, actually. 

Which was why he texted Paisley. Paisley, shockingly, had immediately texted back, saying he was in the neighborhood and asked Mako to meet up at the bar at the hotel he had to scope out for a job. 

Mako noted that it was the same hotel that the dinner he and Aria had been at a few weeks ago, when they’d met Jacqui and Cass. This was pretty irrelevant, Mako thought to himself, as the hotel was pretty large. The chances of him seeing Cass were pretty low, Mako told himself, albeit a little sadly. 

He’d decided to walk the few blocks, figuring the fresh air might help clear his head. It did, for the most part. He focused on the things that he passed by, trying his hardest not to think about anything too hard. 

Mako entered the hotel lobby, where Paisley had said to meet him. Sure enough, the other man was standing around, looking handsome and very natural, like he wasn’t going to rob some rando diplomat later. 

“Hey,” Mako said, very casually, if he did say so himself. 

“Hey, Mako,” Paisley said, grabbing Mako’s arm and leading him toward the bar, presumably. “What’s up?”

Mako looked up from where Paisley was touching his arm. “Not much,” he let himself be led through the busy hall. “What about you?”

“Not much either,” Paisley responded as they stepped into a quiet, dark, bar. 

The bar was mostly empty, save for two familiar faces seated in a corner. Mako figured he must be asleep, because only in his nightmares would he be in the same place as Paisley, Cass, and Ibex. 

As soon as Mako stepped in, Ibex noticed and waved him over. “Do you know that guy?” Paisley whispered as Mako walked determinedly. 

“Unfortunately,” Mako said, sucking a breath in as they approached the table. “Hi, Cass. So sad that you’re here alone tonight.”

Cass coughed, stifling a laugh.“Mako, Ibex was just keeping me company, since he found out Jacqui was going to be out tonight.”

“Yes, Mr. Trig. I was made aware that Jacqui and Aria had a date tonight, so I decided to join Cassander here,” Ibex said, a note of irritation in his voice that Mako was very used to. 

“Ibex,” Paisley smiled a toothy smile. “How interesting to see you here tonight. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It has, Mr. Moon. If you could please excuse Cassander and I,” Ibex got up to leave, clearly done with this situation and resolving to just gracefully exit instead. 

Mako was fine with that. But now that Cass was already here, Mako had a chance to hang out with them again, even if Paisley was also there. 

“Okay, bye, Ian,” Mako said, sitting on the side of the table Cass was sitting on, effectively trapping them. “What’s up, Cass?”

Ibex gave Mako a look. “It’s fine, Ibex, I’ll see you at that meeting on Monday,” Cass said. 

So Ibex left, not as gracefully as he’d originally planned. Paisley sighed and sat down where Ibex had been sitting, and ordered a drink for himself.

“So, you’re the...” Paisley trailed off, gesturing towards Cass. “Scion?”

“Yup,” Cass mimicked Paisley’s motion. “And you’re Mako’s criminal friend?”

“I guess so,” Paisley smirked at Mako. “Do you talk about me often?”

Mako rolled his eyes. “Oh my god. No, Cass was there when you came to talk to me in the library last week.”

“What, like hiding?” Paisley raised his eyebrows, his tone becoming increasingly intrigued. “Are you two like... sneaking around?”

Cass’ gaped at Paisley. “Like... sexually?” they whispered. 

Mako looked from Paisley to Cass in disbelief. “Yes, he means like sexually!” he hissed. “And no, Paisley, we’re not sleeping together. Some people are just friends!

“Okay, okay, sorry!” Paisley said, throwing his hands up. “I was just wondering!”

“No, we’re not sleeping together, no. No offense, but we’re not,” Cass said, in way that would make Mako think that they were sleeping together if he didn’t know that they weren’t. 

“We’re not,” Mako stated firmly. “We’re not, and that’s that.”

“Not that Mako isn’t handsome but like, we just met like, three weeks ago. So it’d be weird if we were sleeping together. So, yeah,” Cass slouched back, resigned with themself. 

“Let’s move on,” Mako said, hoping he wasn’t blushing, although he definitely could tell he was. “Cass. How was your week?”

 

Cass rambled for a few minutes, eager to alleviate the awkwardness. Mako mostly just nodded along, asking a few questions here and there, while Paisley sat across from them, disinterested. 

“Sorry, I’m getting a call,” Paisley said when the conversation reached a lull. “I’ll be right back.”

Mako and Cass were left alone as Paisley left to talk on the phone. Mako was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he was sitting very close to Cass. 

“I’m sorry if I was being weird earlier,” Cass said, a little sheepishly. 

“It’s cool, it was a weird question. Paisley is weird,” Mako responded, as if that even began to explain it. 

“Are you two...” Cass trailed off and made a very strange gesture with their hands. “Not that it’s any of my business!”

Mako laughed a little. “No, we’re not. It’s complicated and weird, but we’re not.”

Mako wasn’t sure if he imagined the content look that crossed Cass’ face before it returned to it’s usual ambivalence. “It’s cool, you don’t need to explain. I get it. I mean, I don’t get it. I don’t do casual stuff because I’m royalty, or whatever. But I get it.”

“It’s fine, Cass,” Mako put a hand on their shoulder, and they glanced down at his hand. “Really. It’s fine.”

Cass’ eyes flickered up from their shoulder, and met Mako’s for just a second. Fortunately for Mako’s slowly creeping panic, Paisley sat back down before either of them had to do anything to break eye contact. 

“Sorry, just a work thing,” Paisley said, putting his phone away. 

“I actually have to attend something later tonight, so I should be going,” Cass said, and Mako realized he would have to get up for Cass to leave. 

Mako moved and stood next to the table. For some reason (possibly possession, he thought), he put out his hand for Cass to grab and pulled them up, putting him at eye level with their chest. Mako stumbled backwards, and Paisley caught him with a hand at the small of his back. 

“Careful,” Paisley said, smirking. “Have a good stay, Cassander.”

“Thanks,” Cass pulled a pen out of their bag, and grabbed Mako’s arm and scribbled something on it. “Use that.”

“Okay,” Mako said, gripping his arm. Cass smiled and walked out of the bar, but to Mako, it seemed more like a glide. He made a mental note to do a search for whether or not fish people could somehow glide.

“Well?” Paisley pointed at his arm as he sat down, a little dazed. “Did you get their number?”

Mako looked at his arm and, sure enough, there was a number- presumably Cass’. “Looks like it.”

“So tell me again about how you two aren’t sneaking around? I didn’t realize that was a ‘not yet’ type of situation,” Paisley said playfully.

Mako groaned and put his face in his hands. He needed to figure this out, and he needed to figure it out soon. Diplomatic trips didn’t last forever, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. i rly like paisley but someones gotta be the mr. collins u know if only for a moment  
> 2\. again sorry about the long gap btwn chapters! school is busy yadda yadda yadda  
> 3\. i'm completely caught up on fatt so i've started to use twitter! u can find me @savannasother


	10. Chapter 10

Cassander kept their cool until they closed their hotel door behind them. “What the fuck,” they whispered to the empty room. 

They flopped onto their bed, and pulled out their phone to text Jacqui and then put it back, not wanting to interrupt her date. They did this multiple times, and their resolve was wearing thin when Jacqui walked in. 

“Hey,” she said, her voice airy. “What’s up with you?” She gestured to their 

“First, how was your date?” Cassander decided to hear about her night first before they told her about what happened. 

“It was great,” she sighed and flopped next to Cassander. “It was perfect. She’s perfect.”

“I’m glad you found someone,” Cassander sat up to look at her and smiled. “Really, I know you two have only been on a few dates. But you seem happy.”

“I am,” she said, almost a whisper. “I haven’t felt like this since Jillian.”

Cassander sighed and pulled her up into a hug. Jacqui was comically tall, so the hug would’ve been awkward with anyone but Cassander. “This’ll be better. I promise, Jacqui. Things are changing in the Golden Branch.”

“Yeah, your stupid coup,” she pulled away to look at them. “That’ll be fun.”

Cassander laughed, bittersweet. “It will be. Just you wait. So, anything else you want to tell me about your date?”

She groaned. “Nobody would believe me if I told them that the scion of Apostolos was a huge gossip.”

“I am not! I just love my best friend.”

“I know. And no, I don’t kiss and tell, and you know that,” she winked. 

“Fine! I did have to witness it personally last time, but whatever.”

“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes. “How was your night?”

“Ah, well,” they started. 

Jacqui raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“So, like. Normal night, right? Ibex wanted to chat about some political stuff, whatever. We were having dinner, and guess who comes in?”

“I really hope this is going where I think it’s going.”

Cassander smiled. “It probably is. So Ibex and I were at dinner, and then Mako and his criminal friend came in and sat with us.”

“Cassander. You have to stop acting like crime isn’t something you are very ready to do.”

“It’s different,” they exclaimed. 

“It’s not, dude. I think you just have a personal vendetta against this guy,” Cassander scoffed. “Anyways. Your story.”

“So, I made up an excuse about having to leave, and...”

“Why did you do that?” Jacqui asked. 

“I... I guess I felt awkward? Anyways. So as I left I. I wrote my number on his arm and told him to use it.”

 

Jacqui gasped and clutched her chest. “The student becomes the teacher.”

Cassander laughed. “I think you’re way less cool than you think.”

“Shut up,” she hit them on the arm. “For real though, I thought you weren’t even friends or whatever.”

“Obviously I lied.”

“Obviously,” she said. “So...”

“So?”

“So do you like him, Cassander?”

“Yeah, he’s a really nice guy. He seems cool.”

“Shut up. Do you like-like him, smartass?”

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

“Okay, be like that then,” Jacqui pulled her phone out. “Do you want me to ask Aria if anyone she knows maybe like-likes you?”

“Jacqui Green,” they grabbed her phone from her hand. “I swear to God. I’m not afraid to banish you from Apostolos? Do you hear me?”

She rolled her eyes and easily wrestled her phone from them. “Whatever. We’ll see.”

“We will not,” Cassander exclaimed, almost yelling. “We’ll see if he texts me.”

“I’m just gonna text Aria and tell her I had a good time tonight,” Jacqui said, typing out a message and the putting her phone down.

“Good for you,” Cassander said. Almost immediately after they spoke, Jacqui’s phone vibrated. “What does it say?”

“Somebody’s demanding,” she read the message and smiled widely. “She had a good time too... And she says it seems like someone else had a good time.”

“That could mean anything.”

“I think she’s probably referencing her best friend and my best friend, though.”

“You could ask her.”

“Why would I do that?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. 

“Shut up.” 

“I did, don’t worry,” she was distracted by her phone now, apparently going back and forth with Aria. 

“Don’t be childish,” Cassander said, sounding extremely childish. “Show me the texts, Jacqui.”

“Fine,” Jacqui said, handing Cassander her phone. 

to: Aria <3  
Hey, I had a really great time tonight!

from: Aria <3  
same !!! i rly wanna see you again.

from: Aria <3  
also it sounds like we werent the only ones who had a good time lol...

To: Aria <3  
What do you mean?

from: Aria <3  
apparentlyyyyy cass gave mako their # and ran!!! mako is freaking out abt it

to: Aria <3  
Good or bad? Cass usually isn’t like that lol

Cassander sighed and gave her her phone back. “Couldn’t you have at least lied about me being cool and smooth?”

“Do you think anyone would believe that?” Jacqui looked at them inquisitively. 

“I’m extremely aloof and princely, so maybe?” 

“I don’t think so,” Jacqui said, shaking her head. “Oh, she texted me back. Apparently, it’s in a good way.”

“Is he gonna text me?”

“I swear to God, this is like middle school all over again.”

“Jacqui. I didn’t go to middle school.”

“I’m Cassander, I’m fish royalty, and I didn’t go to middle school,” Jacqui mocked. 

“Shut up.”

“Apparently he’s nervous, but he’ll text you at some point after a ‘cool’ amount of time,” Jacqui held up her phone so Cassander could read it. 

“What could he be nervous about?”

“Remember 10 seconds ago when I said you were fish royalty? As in, a fish person, who’s also the heir to the fish throne?”

“I mean,” Cassander gestured to themself. “It all works the same?”

“Um,” Jacqui’s voice was laced with hysteria. “I don’t think that’s the concern. I was thinking more the, like, royalty thing. But I’m glad you’ve... thought about it?”

Cassander put their head in their hands. “Oh my god.”

Jacqui chuckled. “It’s fine, I’m sure he’ll text you, like, tomorrow or something.”

Cassander groaned. They really, really hoped so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. OKAY so i imagine the jacqui/jillian storyline is similar to canon here. i feel like jacqui was sent to assassinate Somebody on apostolos and found out abt the coup via snooping and was like Oh Word im in and then jillian was like Um and then she got her memory erased.   
> 2\. i gave jacqui the butch texting style i hope you all appreciate that  
> 3\. THANKS FOR READING sorry 4 the long gaps btwn updates again finals r busy


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